The same latitude as Nice? Still, higher than Salt Lake City. And although Sochi might have palm trees, nobody is actually skiing in Sochi. The easiness with which the American public can be brainwashed is simply astonishing. Though it’s nice to see both conservatives and democrats join the forces and share the same enemy for once. Ah, those Russians…

There’s a bit more to it than the latitude, such as the fact that the Putin games cost more than all previous Olympic winter games combined.

Or that the Russian dominated government in the Ukraine is taking the opportunity to try and wipe out any opposition to the country returning to a satellite state of its much larger neighbour.

The Olympics are as much marketing as they are genuine athletic competition and the host country gets a bit of a honeymoon from all those people going, “Wow, aren’t the games wonderful!”

By 2004, the Russian president had dropped his early overtures to align Russia more closely with NATO and the U.S., and was set on creating an alternative Russian sphere of influence, in which Ukraine would be a key component.

No democrat himself, Putin was nonetheless still popular at home and he had his administration tutor Yanukovych on how to fix an election.

The fix was in, but it was inept. After the vote, Ukrainians of all stripes gathered at Maidan Square, and in 17 days of highly disciplined peaceful mass protest forced through a re-run of the election that Yuschenko finally won.

That was the Orange Revolution. Kuchma had ordered his military commanders to use force on the protesters, but they refused to fire on fellow-citizens.

The Games aren’t just about sports as we’ve seen repeatedly through their history, for instance the 1936 games that were supposed to highlight Nazi superiority. This is a chance for Putin to appear as a responsible world leader as his toady in the Ukraine implements his agenda there.

And while there are undoubtedly some extreme nationalist elements involved in the protest, inclined to force the issue by a more violent insurgency, Yanukovych himself, having met with Putin in Sochi, seems similarly determined to save his regime by whatever means it takes.

Barack Obama has sharply criticised Russian support for crackdowns in Ukraine and Syria, calling for a transitional government in Kiev and personally accusing Vladimir Putin of failing to respect basic freedoms in both countries.

In his most explicit comments yet on alleged Kremlin involvement, the president used a press conference at the North American leaders’ summit in Mexico to warn against viewing the countries as a “cold war chessboard”, insisting the US was “on the side of the people”.

“You have, in this situation, one country that has clearly been a client state of Russia, another whose government is currently being supported by Russia, where the people obviously have a very different view and vision for their country,” said Obama.

“I think this is an expression of the hopes and aspirations of people inside of Syria and people inside of the Ukraine who recognise that basic freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, fair and free elections – are fundamental rights that everybody wants to enjoy.”

I thought this was supposed to be a thread about the Sochi Olympics? I find them tremendously entertaining. Of course, I live in Canada and don’t have to listen to Bob Costas!!! LOL!

These last couple of days have been particularly exciting with the Canadian women’s hockey team beating the Americans for gold and the Canadian men’s hockey team beating the Americans to get into the final. And both our men’s and women’s curling teams took gold this week, too.

I thought this was supposed to be a thread about the Sochi Olympics? I find them tremendously entertaining. Of course, I live in Canada and don’t have to listen to Bob Costas!!! LOL!

These last couple of days have been particularly exciting with the Canadian women’s hockey team beating the Americans for gold and the Canadian men’s hockey team beating the Americans to get into the final. And both our men’s and women’s curling teams took gold this week, too.

I enjoyed the Olympic (Putin’s, excuse my mis-wording) Games. I liked the skiing events like Alpine, Slalom, Cross Country, etc. You know, events where they actually stand up. The opening ceremony, and closing were good, I enjoyed them. The ceremonies happened near Mount Caucasus, so was it a Caucasian Olympics?

And, as Putin, that new Russian Czar, says so, I certainly and have completely forgot about the gays going to the Olympics in protest, Pussy Riot getting horse whipped, and that other country that Putin has invaded by the Black Sea. I certainly would not mention those topics during this thread, of course not Czar Putin.

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bicycles: less mass, no fuel, lower speed, more beautiful, more quiet, lower cost, less wear-and-tear on the roads, more social because you can talk to people beside you, low-impact heart healthy exercise, easy parking… they are not perfect, but are they better than cars?.